The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of sweet orange named ‘Florida EV2’. ‘Florida EV2’ originated as a ‘Valencia’ somaclone tree. In particular, ‘Florida EV2’ is a protoclone, regenerated from protoplasts isolated from an embryogenic suspension culture of standard ‘Valencia’ (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) in 1989. ‘Florida EV2’ is a separate protoclone, regenerated from the same experiment that generated ‘SF14W-62’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,535). Somaclonal variation is defined as variability in plants regenerated from tissue culture that is either induced or uncovered by a tissue culture process. Most somaclonal variation is negative, but if enough plants are examined, positive changes can usually be recovered. Somaclonal variation has been a primary source of genetic variation in sweet orange exploited in citrus improvement programs.
The first asexual reproduction of ‘Florida EV2’ involved grafting of the original tree to ‘Carrizo’ citrange rootstock and planting in Venus, Fla. in 1991. Thus, ‘Florida EV2’ is a true ‘Valencia’ sweet orange with an altered maturity date that allows for harvest 8-12 weeks earlier than traditional ‘Valencia’ trees.